August 23 - The Minister of Labour, Steve Peters, today acknowledged that the Supreme Court decision in June with regard to B.C. health care workers "will clearly have an impact" on part-time college workers in Ontario.

He was speaking with OPSECAAT President Roger Couvrette and Vice-President Candy Lindsay at an event in London in which Health Minister George Smitherman announced the opening of a community health care centre. Other London MPPs present for the announcement were Deb Matthews and Khalil Ramal.

Peters said that the issue of the right of part-time college workers to bargain collectively was definitely "on the radar" at Queen's Park and had been the subject of recent discussions between him and the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Chris Bentley. Peters said he would make the resources of the Ministry of Labour available to Bentley, when "he is ready to move" on the issue.

Couvrette and Lindsay were in London with the OPSECAAT van visiting MPPs consituency offices and the OPSEU academic and support staff offices (Locals 109 and 110) at Fanshawe College. They were joined at the government announcement by Jason Russell, an OPSECAAT executive member and part-time faculty at Fanshawe.